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Lindy wireless extender and projection server

Putting on a display

Conference confidence

Once the client software is up and running it will auto locate the WPS, from there just punch in the login code and confirm that you are happy to change your screen resolution to project away. At this point you can also use the client app to freeze the projected image or swap between screen locations in conferencing mode.

Lindy WPS-1 Wireless VGA Extender & Projector Server Pro

Projection set-up

I was quickly able to configure a conference projection with an Apple MacBook Pro, Acer Aspire 5749 and desktop Windows 7 PC with relative ease. It would have been nice to be able to split the projected screen dynamically based on the number of devices, but it seems it will always split four ways in conferencing mode.

Lindy WPS-1 Wireless VGA Extender & Projector Server Pro Lindy WPS-1 Wireless VGA Extender & Projector Server Pro

Quad screen control and desktop video streaming app

Officially the WPS also supports stills and video streaming from PDAs running Windows Mobile 5.0 along with BlackBerry and Android devices using the MobiShow application. While this is a good solution for displaying photos, MobiShow can only stream AVI video. So I couldn't display MP4 video captured using the video camera on a Samsung Galaxy S used for Android testing.

As for the actual user experience, it really depends on what you want to show your audience. Mouse movements are perfectly smooth, but dragging or switching windows is a jerky and unpleasant experience. With this in mind it's easy to realise that you have no hope of playing video of any resolution from your favourite desktop viewer. However, the WPS client app does actually incorporate an MPEG1/2/4 streaming facility that works very well, provided you are also happy to send the audio to the WPS and rig it up for sound playback.

Lindy WPS-1 Wireless VGA Extender & Projector Server Pro

Expensive and only VGA out, but dead easy to set up

Yet the primary use of this device will be PowerPoint slide shows, so I had quite high hopes for its ability to handle at least basic screen transitions. Yet I was sorely disappointed to find that only static slides deliver acceptable results. Even then there is noticeable lag as slides change, which baffles me, as the WPS is more than capable of smooth hi-res video playback using the streaming facility.

Verdict

I really want to like the Lindy Wireless Prjection Server for its neat streaming features and its flexibility for conferencing with multiple sources. Yet with an asking price of £499, some good old-fashioned cables may seem more appealing, especially if it’s a truly seamless experience that you are after. Perhaps with some development in terms of a software update or spec bump – how about HDMI? – Lindy could perfect the WPS into the do-it-all display box it so easily could be. ®

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Lindy WPS-1 Wireless VGA Extender & Projector Server Pro

Lindy wireless extender and projection server

LAN and Wi-Fi projection server for Macs, PCs and mobiles.
Price: £499 RRP

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